Summers in Manila often look glam on photos. Think of picturesque Manila Bay sunsets and a halo-halo from the corner store or a five-star hotel. However, there is one terrible thing about summer in Manila: the heat. With temperatures expected to reach up to 35 degrees and higher, it is important to get your home ready for the unbearable heat to come. During summer, staying at home seems unbearable and uncomfortable but a summer ready home is prepared for any temperature.
These 9 tips will help you create a summer ready home!
1 Buy Refreshing scents
Get a bottle (or two) of a mint or eucalyptus room spray or a diffuser in these scents. These refreshing scents can make your home feel less sticky and humid.
Read More: A Guide on Home Scents: Candles, Diffusers, and Room Sprays
2 Prepare Proper Exhausts
You have to remember that our homes can trap hot hair, especially the steam from your showers and even the heat and steam from all that cooking. Make sure you have all the exhaust vents in your home (especially those in the kitchen and bathroom) cleaned or have some installed if you don’t have them yet. These vents is where hot air can escape and cool air can enter, they can make all the difference.
3 Opt for Buckwheat Pillows
Ever hate that feeling during summer when you have taken a bath and just rest on your bed but you keep on sweating and your pillow just feels so stuffy and uncomfortable? We feel you. Apparently, there’s a pillow that can help you sweat less! Every summer ready home should have a buckwheat pillow. It’s completely organic and have air pockets inside for proper ventilation for your head to rest on!
Read More: Here’s When You Should Let Go of Your Pillows 
4 Wash Your Window Screens
Aside from washing your windows, give your window screens a little wash down as well. Window screens are also a form of ventilation with their tiny air holes. Aside from being a task to getting a summer ready home, you have to clean those screens because they can catch dust and dirt that can be bad for your health!
5 Think About Your Home Textiles
Change your pillowcases with cotton ones. As a good option for summer clothing, cotton is also a great option for your pillows or even curtains as they are a very breathable cloth. You can also invest in blackout curtains as they not only block out sunlight, they also block out the heat.
6 Have Your Aircon Cleaned
It’s time to schedule that aircon cleaning TODAY. With the summer heat on the rise, one of the best ways to keep your home cool during the summer is to make sure you AC is running in tip-top shape. If the filters are dirty and clogged, your aircon will be dripping and broken in no time. And no AC during the summer is the worst thing to experience.
7 Tend to Your Plants
While we humans might hate the heat of the sun, the plants sure do love it! Layer a row of plants near your windows or tend to a whole garden to make your home no only summer ready, but also visually pleasant and fresh the whole year-round!
Read More: 6 Reasons Why We Need Green Landscapes in Urban Living
8 Keep a Pitcher Close
A key to the creating a summer ready home is making it comfortable and cool for the people who live in it/ Always have a tall pitcher of cold water stashed in the fridge so you can get rehydrate during these really hot times!
9 Opt for Better Lights
Traditional, incandescent light bulbs contribute a lot of feat in a space, go for compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) instead. CFLs also consume less energy, omit less heat and contributes an even lower electricity bill!
